Servomotor



Qct. 30, 1951 c. L. NoRDEN ETAL 2,573,593

sERvoMoToR Filed Jan. 5l, 1947 2 SHEETSb-SHEET l Oct. 30, 1951 c. n.. NORDl-:N ETAL 2,573,593

SERVOMOTOR Filed Jan. 3l, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 vPatented Oct. 30, 1951 SERVOMOTOR Carl L. Norden, Zurich, Switzerland, and Theodore H. Barth, New York, N. Y., assignors, by mesne assignments, to The Norden Laboratories Corporation, White Plains, N. Y., a corporation of Connecticut Application January 31, 1947, Serial No. 725,604

(ol. 19a- 4) 12 Claims.

- Our invention relates to servomotors, .and more particularly to a servomotor of the clutch type vcapable of rotating a shaft in reversible vdirections of rotation at will, and at variable speeds between zero and the limit of speed of the driving means.

Servomotors of the clutch ,type of the prior art have been characterized by an on or olf operation, that is to say, the output shaft is either lstationary or rotates at the full coupled speed. There may be temporary conditions of instability vin passing from coupled to-,uncoupled relation, which characteristic follows from the nature of .the clutch devices used and the operating conditions under which such servomotors have been employed. For example, if the coefficient of fric- ;tion of the clutch or drive disk surfaces and of vthe brake disk surfaces is constant or independent of the angular velocity of slip, the torque which can be handled by the output shaft will be fixed -and it will be accelerated or decelerated, depending upon the relation between the load torque and the difference between the driving andbraking torques of the servomotor. `Such a device will therefore produce what is known as an on or olf system in which the speed of the output shaft will rapidly reach its maximum value` or rapidly stop, depending on whether or not the driving clutch is engaged or the braking element is engaged.

In our servomotor,v we provide friction surfaces in which the coefficient of friction is substantially a risingfunction of the relative speedfbetween the driving and driven means. Under these conditions, we are enabled to provide a servomotor of the clutch type of novel and improved construction in which a predetermined relationship 'exists between the output speed and an input control signal. We are enabled in a servomotor using a driving clutch and a braking clutch such that as the pressure on the driving clutch is increased, the pressure on the brake disk 'is correspondingly diminished. until a point is reached Vat which the driving torque exceeds the braking and load torques and rotation of the output shaft occurs. At this point the relative velocity between the driving clutch member will decrease and the relative velocity between the rotary and stationary braking clutch members will increase correspondingly. Due to the fact that in our servomotor the clutching element is suchthat the dynamic coefficient of friction is a rising y function of the slip velocity, the torque between the driving clutch member and the driven clutch member will decrease and the torque between the rotating and stationary brake members will increase. The result of this is that for a given pressure between the driving clutch member and the driven clutch member, acceleration of the output shaft will cease when the difference be tween the driving and braking torques equals the load torque. The outputshaft speed-hence will be stable and will be a function of the applied clutching pressure. As the clutching pressure increases, the effect will continue and a stabilization will occur at a condition of equilibrium. between the driving torque and the sum of the braking and load torques. A similar rule ofy action will apply as the speed of the output shaft drops. In this oase, the relative speed between the driving clutch member and the driven clutch member increases and the speed between the stationary and rotating brake clutch members decreases. This will produce a diminished braking torque and an increased driving torque so that a stable speed is again reached. It will be seen, therefore, that in our servomotor systemwe can produce constant speeds which are a function of the clutching pressure. y' y O-ne object of our invention is toprovide Van improved servomotor of the clutch type. Y

Another object of ourv inventionfis to provide a servomotor driven by a, motorV at constant speed in a single direction capable of producing various output speeds and in reversible directions.'

Another object of our invention is to provide a servomotor in which we may obtain various output speeds in accordance with predetermined input signals.

A further object of our invention is to provide a servomotor in which a predetermined output speed will be obtained for a predetermined clutching pressure, which speed will be maintained at a constant point agreeable to the clutching pressure.

A further object of our invention is to provide a servomotor of compact form and yet able to control relatively large loads in response to small signals.

A further object of our invention is to provide .a servomotor in which the lag between the incoming signal and the response of the servomotor is reduced to a minimum.

A further object of our invention is to provide a servomotor which is dependable, rugged, and in which the weight of the reversible parts is reduced to a minimum.

Other and further objects of our invention will appear from the following description.

In general, our invention contemplates the protating elements in opposite directions.

riedfby-'the housing |00;

3 vision of a constant speed motor driving two ro- Means normally clutched by a brake to a stationary part are simultaneously unbraked and clutched to one of the oppositely rotating parts in such manner that thedirection of rotation is .governed by the choice of1a cl'utching'elec'stromagriet and the'speed of rotation will vary as a function of the current in the electromagnet winding between zero speed?- and the maximum speed, as determined by .the A* speed of the driving motor.

The clutches used are friction-clutchesf-inV which the coeicient of frictionisfsubstantiallyFa 1 rising function of velocity.

to be read in conjunction therewith-andin-which like reference numerals Yare used to indicateglikeN parts in the various views: Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of a servo- `Inl-.Stor 'showing' one embodiment of our 'invention.' .Y f

Figure `2 is'afsectiona'l View taken orrfthef line :2-2 of-'Figure 3'.

'Figure'is a sectionalview takenv on'thelin'e "3L-'3 oFFigure 1'. j Figure 4v isa view showing .typical "dynamic characteristic curvesofi theservomotor of our iin- -vention. Y

lFigure 5 a View :showingA typical static'characteristic vcurves, l of 'the `servomotorrof our Ainvention.

Referring f now V'to -the drawings, we provide f a housing I'Ui'n which-'weimount the primemover, "which may be an-electricirmotor 19|.' Af'shaft |02 `is mounted for rotationiinbearings I'il and I'lllfl AThe shaft'l|i2`is'axiallyfmovableiinits bear- 'ingsy'as welt as rotatable, VAdjacent vone sid'efof theh'ous'ing and positioned around'the shaft 4V|62, 'we provide a"`brake clutchY Vdisk '|95 `which is. se-A 4cured toth'efshaft |02' by'pinv |06, orinianyother suitable manner: Asa-:generaliruleroefcients of 'friction'decrease as the velocity ofV4 sliding'zbetween 4two surfaces increases;l AIty is critical incur invention that 'theinversefof the general rule occur. fInlother words we choose surfacessuohV thatthe coeicientaof frictionfwill' increase asa function v"of increased'slip' velocity, "that'is', thecoecierit of friction will" be la rising. 'function ofwel'ooity. 'We' have found Athat cork'and `leather against Mmetal such as iron, steel, brass,`bronze,raluminum and the flike :have thispeculiar'eect. Theitest'cf the lining'material against its cooperating sur- Vvface for use in Aour `invention is "that within' the vspeeds involvedf'and the pressures` 'used 'the rcoe'cient of friction must :be a risingfunction-of Avelocity; Ourftests'indicate cork is the :best manterialtoy use;

VAccordingly, clutch disk |91 is secured tothe shaft '|92 by apin |98, andrisfacedwitha cork ring "|52, Similarly,"a clutch'disk 1991s secured .to the:shaft'I'byapin II 9, and isfa-ced with-a; cork ring I5 The brake clutch disk |95 is facedwitha `cork ring I |11adaptedtoco-act` with thesurface of a boss1||2 formed onfthe'housingY |90. Thernotor fIUIf drives a `pinion IIS" which 'meshes'with a gear I I4 carried by ashaft IIEtSiiitabIy-journaled in afbearingI IT support-sd`bya'-member |"IB carand 'asimilan'gearfl 2.3.; iszcarred-b-y the shaft' I I 9 The gear lIftmeshesl 4 for rotation therewith. The gear I 22 meshes with a clutch gear |24 carried by a hub |25 rotatably journaled upon the shaft I |32 and mounted for axial movement thereon. In a, similar manner, the gear |23 meshes with a clutch gear lie-carried by ahub I2f|-rotatablyv-rnounted on Ashaft l.2-"for'` relative `rotation and 'axial movement therewith. A web |28 is formed in the lousing and supports one end of a lever |29 which is pivotally connected around pivot pin |30.

The other end of lever |29 is biased to move upper end oittheclutch disk |99, thus moving thefclutchfdiskrfand the shaft |02 downwardly,

tendingto bring cork ring I I of the brake clutch *disk |051 into contact with the stationary Vsurface formed on the boss I I2 of the housing.k A secondlever-'I'Sd is pivot'edat' one endto theiweb |28; f The other=end of" lever Ii'bears against armature |55, whichl is pivoted around pivotfiFSS 'The armature "|35 is adapted to beV inuenced by the electromagnet |38 secured tothe housing by-:screws' I 39'. IAn

'intermediate point/of the lever |39Pbears against a spherical surface |549 formed on thethub |21 of the clutchgear |26. A second electromagnet |4I is mounted on the housing |0Il"b`y machine i screws |42; A bracket ljliadjacent the electro'- 'magnet |41 .supports an armature ||=4 pivoted around pivot pin 'M5'. lBoth armaturesilfirand IMY are b'll crank leversVasican readilybefseen byreferenceito Figure'l.- Athird lever |46' islpivl- 'oted -torthev/ebatrl'fl. The other end vofflever |4515 supported by Ione-armor the vbe11"crank lever armature |44, as'lis'ishown inFigurel'. :An

intermediate point of' thelever |46 bears against 'a lspherical surface |43 formed on the .'hub |25. vA gear loutside the housing l'fissecuredto 'theshaftIDZ by a-pin|59 or in any:'other'suitab1'e manner;

The outputv of the servornotor :is .de-

' Vlivered through the gear I 495, whichmaybedri-ven bythe servomotoriineither1direotion andatwvarytransmission ratioA determined 'by the gearing;

In operation the motor |0| is adapted-*to be ldriven at a 'constantfspeed' and'is 'toi run :con-

tinuously, driving'pinion |13. 4Gr'ear l|1|||"willib`e driven at a* constant' speed in one direction; fand gear |'I8'l will be driven at a 'constant'.'speedin the opposite direction'. Gear |22"will`thus':drive clutch gear |24 in one direction, and gear |323 will' drive clutch gear |26 in the' oppositezfdirection. Both gears '|24 and |26 `are'mouni'ed for rotation about vshaftv |02. The thrust of spring |'3I Vacting through lever |29 andthe surface "|33 formed ron' the hub of clutch disk |`99=`will thrust the shaftl |||2` downwardly, as viewed in 'Figure 1, bringing the cork clutch surface I"|| carried by brake clutch Ydisk |05 into contact with the stationary surfaceformed Yon the bossr 2, thusy braking vor irnmobilizingr the 'shaft IIl2; kWhen it is desired to 'rotatethe output gear |49 in `one direction, a: signal-is applied, energizing the windingV of the electrovmagnet |38. The 'armature |35 will be attracted tothe position shown infFigure 1, thus raising 'the free endofleverIM, 4as viewed in Figurel.

The upward `motion of the lever .moves clutch gearV |26 upwardly relative toy shaft. |92 until :engagement zmadewith. .thaoork ringfv |51.

withA which the clutch disk |09 is faced. The upward thrust of the clutch gear |26 also acts to'fmove the clutch disk |09 upwardly against the action' of spring I 3|,-7 thus lessening the pressure vof brake disk against the housing. As cork ring |5| makes contact with the clutch plate |00, it will tend to rotate the clutch plate in the direction of rotation of the clutch gear |26. This action is resisted by the braking action between brake boss ||2 and the cork ring As the pressure increases the friction between the cork ring |5| and the clutch plate V|09 becomes such as to overcome the friction between the cork ring and the brake boss ||2. It -willbe remembered that in our construction the coeliicient of friction vis a rising function of slip velocity. When the clutch plate |09 is stationary the slip between the clutch gear |26 and the cork ring |5| is at a maximum. The thrust moving the clutch gear upwardly into contact with the clutch plate against the action of spring |3| also acts to move brake plate |05 away from brake boss ||2. As the pressure increases the spring |3| is further compressed until the brake plate |05 is moved clear of the brake boss H2. As the clutch plate |09 begins to rotate, the friction between cork ring |5| and clutch gear |26 will drop and the friction between cork ring carried by the brake plate |05 and the brake boss ||2 will increase. Before the cork ring of the brake plate iscompletely free from the brake boss ||2, the clutch plate |09 will be driven at its maximum speed and the shaft |02 will rotate in the direction of the clutch gear |26 at this speed.

The maximum torque which can be produced by the brake under rest conditions will be proportional to the relatively low static coeflicient of friction, while the torque of the driving clutch -will at' first be proportional to the large coeicient of friction, corresponding to the condition of one hundred per cent slip. As the pressure on the drive disk is increased, and that on the brake ring is diminished, a point will be reached at which the driving torque exceeds the sum of the braking and load torques and .rotation of the output shaft |02 will just begin.

A further increase in control pressure will increase the speed of rotation. This speed will be stable since, as the output shaft speed increases, the drive disk slip vlocity will drop correspondingly and the brake disk slip velocity willldnereaseV correspondingly, h'ence the drive disk torque will decrease while the brake disk torque will increase as a function of .the increase of the output speed. Thus for a given pressure, acceleration of the output shaft will cease when the difference between the driving and braking torques equals the torque load. The output shaft speed which is thus determined in accordance with the applied pressure is hence stable. If the output shaft speed drops,

the reverse effect occurs, the braking torque being diminished and the driving torque being increased, thus tending to maintainstability of output speed in either direction.

The action of our servomotor construction is shown graphically in Figure 5, where the output speed w1, as a fraction of the full coupled speed wz, is plotted as the ordinate against the drive disk pressure p1, produced by the control electromagnet, as a fraction of the brake spring pressure pz as the abscissa. The relative output speed will begin at zero and increase to a maximum at unity. Anyfurther increase of pres- `maximum input signal.

acteristic maybe regulated so as to distribute the increase ofoutput shaft speed over substantially the entire effective signal range, if desired, or in such manner as to produce full output shaft speed in response lto a desired fraction of the It will be noted that the shape of the curve C1 is substantially linear and quite similar to the characteristic curves of vacuum tubes in which plate current is plotted against grid voltage.

ASince the selection of a zero signal is arbitary and at the. ywill of the designer, the characteristic may be shiftedk asv desired for a particular applicationV by biasingthe electromagnet so vthat a positive pressure upon the drive clutch disk may exist at a point corresponding tothe zero signal. For exampley the characteristic curve may be shiftedn into the position occupied by the curve C2, as shown in Figure 5, inA which the continuation of the major straight part of the curve passes through the origin. This may be done by merely arranging the vcontrol circuit 'so thata certain residual current ows through the winding of the control electromagnet under zero signal conditions. The characteristic curve shifts in the direction of the Aabscissa Vwith the load torque. While relative pressure on'the drive disk is used as the Yabscissa, the curve may be considered as representing the relationship between the output speed and the input current tothe control electromagnet. Bysuitable design of the control electromagnets, a substantially linear relationship between input current and clutching pressure may be obtained and, under'such conditions, the static characteristic curve will have the same form when graphed in terms of input signal current as when graphed against pressure. If the control electromagnet is biased so as `to produce a characteristic, such as the curve Cz, or any other desired shifted characteristic curve', the signal will, of` course, be 1 measured `against vthe biasing current instead ofv against zero current as a reference point. Wherer a 'nonlinear characteristicl curve Iis desired to ymeet .special conditions, `it may be..produced'by varying the electromagnet and clutch construction, `thus varying the relation between pressure and input signal current.

While cooperating surfaces may takespherical or conicalforms, flatl surfaces are simpler in con# struction and'we preferto use them. With 'our construction, we Vare enabled to produce servo- -motors utilizing-.very small electromagnet armaturernovements in passing from zero signal to full, output signal, thus reducing thev lag between the input signal and the output response.

It will be'seen therefore thatwe have in effectv atrasos 7 Figure Yiishows a dynamic characteristic forV a `servomotor embodying our invention. A sinus,- oidal input signal S israpplied against. a plurality of. characteristic curves C3, C4, C5, Ceand Cfr, similarV to characteristic curves Ci and C2, as shown in Figure 5, and corresponding to various -torques Ts,T4, T5,` Ts, and T7., The resulting output speed characteristic has the form of an ellipse Y having a minor axis d' and a major axis D. The minor axis d depends upon the time constant. ofthe device. YThe theoretically ideal linearV characteristic would correspond to` the maior axis D and the rapidity of the response of thei'deiv-ice is suchthat the Yminor axis d may be reduced to a point where an excellent approximation ofI this condition is obtained. Under the assumption of the linearity of the friction velocity characteristic of the 'elements and similarity .of driving and braking elements, the dynamic lcharacteristic in response to a suddenly .imposed sinusoidal signal is composed of a term representing the original output velocity, -Which decays rapidly and-exponentially tofzero and aV sinusoidal .termV having a phase difference depending on `the time constant of the device. This time con- Stant is equal to the. moment of inertia reduced tothe output fshaft multiplied by the full coupled speed and. divided by the braking torque for the full braking pressure, and by the percentage increase inthe coefficient of friction at maximum'slip velocity. The time constant accordingly mayfbe reduced by increasing the velocity 'coeicient of friction. Our servomotor construction has a very small time constant without an vexternal load. An additional lag is introducedvv by the electromagnetic lcontrolsystem, but this, is very lovv so that the.- over-all Atime constant, 'off ourl servomotor.l is extremely small.

When the signal energizing the winding of electromagnet. |38v ceases, the spring |3| again `brings the clutch brake into, engagement. Upon the energization of the winding of. electromagnet IM asimilar action takes place, moving the clutch gear |24 upwardly into Contact with the cork facing '|52 of the clutch diskl |01'. When the 'clutch disk |81 is coupled to the clutch rgear |24 the shaft GfZwvill rotate in adirection reverse tofthat;r which followed when clutch gear' |26 was, clutched to clutch'disk |09, due to the fact that clutch gear |24 is rotating in a `direction reverse to-that of clutch gear |26. Wehave shown the cork ring facings secured to. the. clutch and brake disks. If desired they maybe secured to the clutch gears V`|26 and |24 and to the braking bossv I2, insteadv of as shown, and the clutch and brake disks may present metal surfaces.

It willv be seen that we have accomplished the objects of our invention. We have .provided an improved servomotor of the clutch type in which a motor Vis driven at a constant speed in a single direction and which-is capable of producing output responses at various speeds and in reversible directions. We are enabled to obtain various speedsin accordance with predeterminedinput signals, and such speeds are maintained at a constantpoint agreeable to the clutching pressure. Our servomotor is compact in form and is able Aneverthelessl to control relatively large output forces in response to comparatively small input signals. In our servomotor the lag between the incoming signal and the output response is kept at a. minimum. Our-servomotor is dependable, rugged, and the weightsof the reversibleparts are reduced to a minimum.

It will be understood that' certain features and sub-combinations are of Vutility and may be-employed'rwithout referencegto other features and sub-combinations.V rThis is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to the specific-details shown and described.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A servomotor includingV inV combination a prime mover, a pair of friction clutches each having driving and driven elements, means for rotating the driving elements in opposite directions fromA the prime mover, an output shaft, means for mounting the output shaft for axial movement, a friction brake secured to the output Ashaft Yfor normally immobilizing the same, biasing means for moving the shaft axially to braking position, means operatively connecting the output shaft with the driven clutch elements, means for selectively engaging one of the driven and driving clutch elements and for simultaneously moving the output shaft axially against the action of said biasing means through the clutch-engaging force whereby the brake is released during said engagement.

2. A servomotor as-in claim 1 in which the 'engaging' friction surfaces of said clutches and said friction braking means have friction surfaces having dynamic coefcients of friction rising as a function of slip velocity. i

3. VA servomotor including in combination a prime mover, a pair of friction clutches having driving and driven elements, said driving elements comprising a pair'o'f oppositely rotating gears driven from a prime mover, an output shaft, means for mounting said output shaft for movement axially thereof, means operatively connecting the driven clutch elements to the output shaft, a friction brake carried bythe output vshaft forA normally immobilizing the same, biasing means for biasing the output shaft axially normally to engage said brake, thrust means responsive to an electric current for selectively clutching one of said driving clutch elements with one of said driven elements'and for 'simultaneously `moving the output shaft axially againstv the action of the biasing means through said clutch-engaging 4force to release the friction brake, the dynamic coefcients of friction ofthe friction clutches rising as a function of slipl velocity. l Y' 4. A servomotor as inclaim 3vin whicheach of 'said friction clutches has a surface compris'- ing cork. Y

5. A' servomotor as in claim 3 including jin combination spring means biasing said friction i brake to braking position.

6. A servomotor 'as in claim 3 including in combination spring means biasing said friction brakerto braking position, and means for ad,- justing thefforce of said spring means.

'7. A servomotor as in claim 3 in which said thrust means comprisesY an electromagnet.

8.'A servomotor, including in combinationva housing, a shaft mounted for rotation and axial movement in said housing, a pair of gears mounted slidably on and for relative rotation with said shaft, means for driving said gears in opposite directions, a pair of clutchl disks carried by said shaft for rotation therewith Vand disk mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith and mounted in proximity to a stationary portion of said housing, means normally biasing said shaft axially whereby to engage said brake disk with said stationary housing portion to immobilize said shaft, a pair of thrust means selectively adapted to move said gears axially of said shaft into engagement with said clutch disks and to move said shaft axially of the housing whereby to unbrake said brake disk.

9. A servomotor as in claim 8 in which one of the engaging surfaces between each of said clutch disks and each of said gears comprises cork.

10. A servomotor as in claim 8 in which one of the engaging surfaces between said brake disk and said stationary housing portion comprises cork.

11. A servomotor as in claim 8 in which one of the engaging surfaces between said clutch disk and said gears and said brake disk and said stationary housing portion comprises cork.

12. A servomotor as in claim 8 in which said thrust means comprises a pair of electromagnets.

CARL L. NORDEN. THEIODORE- H. BARTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Nam-e Date 744,249 Shore Nov. 17, 1903 843,076 Detrick Feb. 5, 1907 847,754 Flinchbaugh Mar. 191907 990,999 McGuire May 2, 1911 1,751,643? Nieman Mar. 25, 1930 2,175,382 Eason Oct. 10, 1939 2,311,321 Zigan Feb. 16, 1942 2,391,123 Corliss Dec. 18, 1945 

